


Keeping Up With The Mills: Royal Flush Edition

by RebelByrdie



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-02-02 20:40:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12733911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebelByrdie/pseuds/RebelByrdie
Summary: Cora Mills has returned and the Mills Family may never be the same.  This is a similar story to the original Keeping Up With the Mills but a separate universe with some big differences.  Romance, Fluff, Angst, Exes, Startling Revelations and a few fight scenes.  DragonQueen and WickedWolf.Each section is clearly marked by story arc and POV character.





	1. Family Reunion Pt 1 - Henry

Family Reunion   
Pt I - Henry

 

Storybrooke, Maine looked like a normal and boring small town. All of his friends from New York thought it sucked. Sometimes Henry agreed with them, but not for the same reasons. The pizza wasn’t Brooklyn great, but it had improved. There wasn’t a football team, but there was a new recreational jousting league. What really sucked about Storybrooke was the fact that it was a villain magnet. Okay, so half of the villains were his family, but it still sucked. Most schools had tornado or fire drills. His school had magic attack drills. There was a PTA phone tree specifically for evil doers attacking. Neither of his moms were on that paper, go figure. Of course there were heroes too, like his family. Only this time, there wasn’t a grand plan or operation to stop the bad guys-girl-woman-whatever. 

Nobody knew what The Black Fairy’s plan was. They knew that she had one and that it was bad, but that was about it. THat was enough to have everyone freaking out, though. The whole town was on edge and ready to explode.

Henry hated it, really and truly hated it. His Moms were not only both stressed beyond the max, but the were fighting with each other. It wasn’t the fun kind of bickering either, it was to the point where the phrase “my son” was being slung around again. David and Snow were so worried about the Black Fairy taking Neal that they were carrying weapons with them at all times. Zelena was paranoid Robyn too, and had started to drop hints about wearing her pendant again. The suspense was killing everyone. Something had to give,

When the Black Fairy’s plan was revealed, no one was more surprised than his Mom and Aunt. Literally, someone could have dropped houses on them and it still would have been less of a shock.

He hadn’t been there, but Snow was telling him all about it.

There had been smoke and magic and so much power the whole town had shook. Plates had dropped off of shelves at Granny’s, windows had cracked, even the town sign had split in two. Then it had all stopped, as quickly as it started. 

Henry had written down what Snow was saying, leaving out some of the ums and wild hand gestures. The important part, though, he kept exactly as she’d described it. He tried to capture not only what she said, but the way she said it. He hadn’t been old enough, or wise enough, the first time around to understand. He’d been out in the world: New York, Camelot, even the Underworld. He had seen enough to finally understand something he hadn’t as a ten year old kid with a book. He now knew that he really didn’t know anything. The world was huge and complicated and not everything fit into a neatly packaged black and white story. If it did, it probably wasn’t a very good story.

“When the smoke cleared, there she was. Just standing in the middle of the street. She looked as confused as anyone else, scared even. The Black Fairy was laughing, the sound was like barely controlled screams. Regina was the first one to speak. I’ve heard her speak so many times. In anger, in fear, in courage, in madness, but I’ve never heard her voice like that.” 

Snow had gone a shade paler than usual. “And Zelena-she almost fainted. She may be wicked but she hadn’t been expecting that. No one had expected that. I mean-”

Henry put down his pen, not the Author’s, but the Monte Blanc his mother had given him for Christmas. 

“Are you okay,Grandma?”

David came over, with Neal, and Snow snatched the baby out of his arms. She held him close, like she was afraid someone would take him. Someone still might try, nobody knew. It wasn’t paranoia when it might actually happen. It made him think of his Mom again, about how protective she had been when he was younger. Of how she had held tighter when he’d been pushing her away. If he’d known then what he knew now, he would have not only let her, he would have clung to her just as fiercely.

Hindsight, as his Ma often said, was 20-20.

“We’re fine, Henry.” David sat down beside Snow, “We’re all going to be okay. Today’s just got everybody a little out of sorts.”

David Nolan: Shepard, Prince, Master of Understatements.

David wasn’t pale. He was fidgety, nervous, twitching. He was looking everywhere, like he was expecting an attack. He probably was.

Henry sighed, he was going to have to cut through the bull to get to the real story here.

“So she’s really back, like from the dead?”

They both nodded, but didn’t say anything so he kept prodding.

“And the Black Fairy didn’t say why or how?”

The muscles in David’s jaw and neck ticked, “No. Just that they’d made a deal a very long time ago.”

He scowled, they were either being vague on purpose to “protect” him or they really didn’t know. It was hard to tell which.

“So what’s the plan?”

Snow sighed and rocked Neal a little more aggressively than anyone should probably rock a baby.

“Well, all things considered, Regina and Zelena think it’s best that you live with Emma for now while things get settled at the manor.”

David nodded, “Regina tried to convince Zelena to take Robyn back to the farmhouse, but she refused. I don’t know if it’s because she wants to be there, or she doesn’t want Regina to be alone. It’s hard to tell.”

His Mom hadn’t talked to him about it, and that annoyed him. He hated pinging around, from place to place. He really hated staying at Emma’s place most of the time. It didn’t feel like home. Mifflin Street was home. 

“It’s not forever, Henry.” Snow soothed, “Just until everyone is settled.”

“And we make sure no one is planning a revenge murder.”

That line, so smoothly delivered by his Grandfather, belonged on a rerun of Law and Order, not in a normal conversation. His life was so screwed up.

“She’s dangerous, Henry. Very dangerous. We know it’s not something your mom talks about, but Cora is-”

“Capable of speaking for herself, thank you very much.” 

They all turned, in what Henry figured was almost comical timing, to see the woman in question only a few feet away. Cora Mills, with a daughter on either side of her, was staring at them. 

“Hello Henry.”

He smiled and gave a lame half wave to his back-from-the-dead and evil grandmother, “Um, hi Gran.”

He had never seen Cora before. He knew that she had been in both Storybrooke and the Underworld but they hadn’t ever met. His mom had probably made sure to keep them far apart. He looked his mother’s mother over. She was old, but not gray and wrinkled. She was wearing some of his Mom’s clothes. Cora’s lips were painted the same bold red as the blazer she wore. Her hair, a few shades lighter than his Mom’s, but not nearly as light and red as Zelena’s, was down and fell in waves over her shoulders. 

“Henry.” His mother quickly moved to his side. She was pale, almost as white as Snow, and tense. She looked scared, like he was talking to a horror movie monster and not his own grandmother.

Cora smiled, it was tight and seemed forced. It was the same smile his mother used at long meetings and mayor’s hand landed on his shoulder, soft and steady, but he could feel the tension pouring off her in waves. 

Granny finally came by, “Are you going to stand around blocking traffic all day or are you going to sit?”

His mom jolted, like she’d forgotten they were in public. Cora turned and looked Granny over. Her lip curled like she was about to say something mean. 

“Mother.” Zelena spoke up, “Gina.” She tilted her head, “We have a booth waiting with a high chair. Come on, the baby is getting fussy.”

His Mom nodded, “Of course.” 

Cora cut her eyes to the side, almost like she was rolling them. “Later then, Henry.” She smiled at him, it was a small smile but it seemed genuine. Her face went cold and stiff when she looked at Snow and David. “Please don’t pick up any” Her lip curled again, “bad habits from these two.” She walked over to the far back booth where Zelena and the baby waited.

Snow let out a small breath. “Are you okay?” She whispered the question to his Mom. Henry did roll his eyes. Of course she wasn’t okay, but if he had learned anything about his Mom over the past few years, she would never admit it.

“Of course she’s okay, Grandma. She’s a Mills.” He turned his head to smile at his mom, “We’re a strong bunch.”

His mom finally smiled, and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. She rested her chin on his head, “How did you get to be so smart?” He chuckled, “I got my smarts from the Mills side too, duh.” 

She chuckled, “Thank Goodness.” She moved stepped away and flicked her hair over her shoulder, “No offence to you two, of course.”

Snow smiled, “None taken.” 

David crossed his arms over his chest, “Some taken.”

Regina walked to the other booth, head held high. 

Henry turned back to his cheeseburger and his notebook. Yeah, things were really scary and the villain of the week was running amuck but everything would be okay. He was a Mills, and that was sort of a big deal. Once a Mills, always a Mills, even after death. The Black Fairy had no idea what was coming for her.


	2. Family Reunion Pt 2 - Zelena

Family Reunion

Pt 2 - Zelena

  
  


What did one say to their mother upon her resurrection?  She had checked all of the greeting cards at the Stationary Store and the Pharmacy, and Hallmark did not have it covered.  She didn’t know what to say.  She had only met her mother twice, and one of those times she’d been younger than Robyn.  The other time had been in the Underworld.  She had honestly thought that had been it.  She had thought she had settled things in her heart and head when it came to her biological mother.

 

Then the Black Fairy, damn her, had seen fit to break all the laws of magic, nature and reality as they knew it.  Now Cora, former Millers Daughter and Queen,was alive once more.  It had taken all of ten minutes for Zelena to realize that she had not settled all of her mother-related issues.  Not at all.  Regina hadn’t been helpful, either.  Her little sister had shut down emotionally.  It was some sort of defence mechanism, she was sure.  Regina had her own set of mother issues to deal with.  This was probably why the Cricket was always nagging at them about therapy.  

 

It had been quickly decided that Cora would move into the manor so they could keep an eye on her.  No one else, save for perhaps Emma Swan, had a chance against her magically speaking.  Not that Cora had shown any magic yet, but it had only been a few hours.  Nobody knew what the Black Fairy’s plan was, or how Cora played into it.  Everyone was on pins and needles.

 

How and why they had decided to go to Granny’s Diner was a bit beyond her.  It was just what you did in Storybrooke.  Regina was a bit beyond cooking, and Zelena still hadn’t gotten the knack of cooking with modern appliances.  So here they were, having a nice family outing.  Except for the part where everyone was staring at them like they were a pack of deranged murderers.  Which was accurate, but still impolite.

 

Robyn, for her little part, had blinked at Cora a few times but hadn’t made a peep.  Zelena hadn’t let Cora hold her baby, either.  When she’d introduced herself to Henry at the restaurant, Regina had almost had a stroke. As far as Zelena knew, Regina had never allowed Cora to even lay eyes on Henry.  Neither of them trusted Cora, their own mother, with their children.  Now that was something that the Cricket would want to discuss.   

 

Cora had caught on to their tension.  The entire diner had fallen into an uncomfortable silence.  Forks scraped against plates and she could actually hear the line cook grumbling in the kitchen.  

 

One of the waitresses walked over.  She had long dark hair and sharp green eyes.  It was Snow White’s guard dog, well wolf.  

 

“Evening, Ladies.”  She smiled, “All the Mills are out on the town.”  She bent down and tickled Robbie’s little chin.  “But you are my favorite.”  She booped the baby’s nose with a single finger and Robbie gave her a gummy smile.  She handed them menus, but Zelena had memorized it ages ago.  

 

Regina didn’t even bother to look at it, “Just my usual please, Miss Lucas.”

 

Ruby didn’t even write that down.  “Coffee?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“No.”

 

Regina’s answer was drowned out by Cora, “It is awful late for coffee, Dear.”

 

Regina didn’t say anything, but she went stiff.  She clenched her jaw so tightly that the muscle in her cheek twitched.  The vein in her forehead started to pound.  

 

“Irish?”  Ruby offered with a smirk.  

 

That, Zelena had learned, was code for adding alcohol to another drink.  Leroy drank everything with a little Irish.

 

“And for you, Zelena?”

 

She jolted out of her thoughts.  She honestly had no idea what to order.  Her appetite had abandoned her some time ago.  “I-um”

 

She felt self-conscious, as if everyone was staring at her.  As if they were all judging her. They probably were.  Any reaction, even the smallest snark, could derail all of everything they had worked towards.

 

“How about”  Ruby offered her a wide smile, “I bring you out a club with a side of that potato salad Regina made for Granny.”

 

Zelena nodded silently and handed her the menu.  

 

“And a lemonade, of course”  The woman even knew her favorite beverage.  She really should leave her a nice tip.   “I’ll Robbie some applesauce too.”  A really nice tip.

 

The waitress turned to Cora and didn’t shake or cower.  She smiled, “And for you, Mrs. Mills?”

 

Both she and Regina held their breath.  Everyone was waiting for the Queen of Hearts to make a scene.  

 

“I am unfamiliar with this realm’s cuisine.”  She dropped the menu on the table, exasperated.  “Just bring me whatever is closest to roasted rabbit with regional vegetables and an appropriate wine.” 

 

She didn’t smile or maintain eye contact for very long.  She sat in the booth, straight and stiff, and utterly regal.  She was everything Zelena had imagined her to be, but both more and less at the same time.  It was hard to explain, even to herself.  Cora sat across from them, three generations of women all together, but the conversation was stilted at best. 

 

“The father of your child, what is his name, Zelena?”

 

Zelena shrugged, uncomfortable, “Robin-Robin of Loxley.”

 

Cora’s eyebrow quirked, “The man with the lion tattoo that was supposed to be Regina’s soul-mate?”

 

Now Regina stiffened.  “Robin was not my soulmate.  Not really.”  

 

“Was?”  

 

Cora’s memories of the Underworld were fuzzy at best, and she hadn’t spoke about it.

 

“He died in the Underworld before Robbie was born.”

 

Cora nodded, “And you named the girl after him.”  She shook her head, “The two of you, glorifying fathers.”  She clucked her tongue in obvious disapproval.

 

“My middle name was in honor of Daddy’s father.”  Regina scowled, “And of course, you didn’t bother to name Zelena at all.  So excuse me if I take your opinions on Henry and Robbie with a grain of salt.”

 

Cora’s nostrils flared and her mouth stretched into a thin, angry line.  Her reply, whatever it might have been, was cut off by Ruby.  She had a tray loaded with their food and another with their drinks.  She balanced them easily and deposited their plates with grace and ease.  She sat Regina’s salad-with no croutons, bacon or cheese and dressing on the side- down and then her sandwich, with all the fixings except onions (she had an aversion to them thanks to Emma Swan) and she put a small bowl of applesauce with cinnamon sprinkled in for Robbie and finally a plate of the Blue Plate Special roast for Cora.  Drinks quickly followed.  Zelena watched Ruby walk away and wished she would stay.  Her presence was the only thing keeping the tenuous peace.

 

Cora sampled the wine, smelled and swished it.  Zelena had watched Regina do the same.  She knew little about wine.  She hadn’t gotten a lot of fine education in Oz.  Regina would probably teach her if she asked, but she would never ask.  She’d looked up a few things on the internet, but she hadn’t been able to make heads or tails of it.  There was red and white and in between but she didn’t really understand the difference.  Princesses were taught things like that, not peasants.  

 

“A sandwich?”  Cora scowled again, “That is a peasant's meal, Zelena.”  She sniffed, “And coffee with spirits in it, Regina?  You are a Qu-”

 

Regina finally snapped.  Her fist hit the table hard enough to startle Robbie.

 

“I am not.  Not here.  Not anymore.  I am a grown woman, as is Zelena.  We are not children to be molded in your image.”

 

The baby’s cries stopped Regina, but only for a moment.  “Zelena doesn’t know you like I do.”  She was raging now, and the entire diner was watching them.  “But I won’t let her make the same mistakes I did.  We won’t live our lives to please or spite you, Mother.”  She looked at Robbie, “And neither will our children.”

 

“Regina!”

 

Regina didn’t say anything else, she disappeared in a whirl of violet smoke.  

 

“Ozma damn it.”  Zelena cursed weakly.  Regina could be such a hot head and now she’d left her to deal with a crying baby and a furious mother to deal with in front of half of Storybrooke.

 

“Language, Zelena.”

 

Cora primly corrected her then took a sip of her wine.  It was absurd.  The whole situation was mad.  It was like Cora had heard nothing of what Regina had said.

 

“Bollocks.”  It was a crude curse, one of the ugliest one she could think of.  She pulled Robbie out of her carrier and tried to calm her.  

 

“Honestly, between you and your sister you’d think I’d raised two-”

 

Then she laughed.  She laughed hard, loud and a little manic.  “You didn’t raise me at all, Mother Dear.”  She stood up, appetite utterly gone, “And from what little I know, your mothering was more nightmare fuel than happy days.”  Admittedly, Regina wasn’t the only hot head in the family.  Once the words started coming, it was like a river that couldn’t be dammed up.  “You abandoned me in the woods to die.  You, an apparent mistress of resurrection, left an infant to die.  Now-”  She stood up, “you’re back and all you can do is criticize and judge.”  She shook her head, “Such a happy family.  Maybe you should go back to Wonderland.  You seem more suited to queen than mother.”

She turned away, “I’ll leave you to your dinner.  I’ll settle up the bill.”  She carried her daughter to the bar where the till sat.  She couldn’t bare to look at Cora.  She would either scream or cry and since she’d already humiliated herself enough for the evening.

 

Ruby came over fast, and still had a smile on her face.  “You Mills girls are always the life of the party.”

 

Zelena sat on the nearest stool and sighed, “Well we can’t  be reputable villainesses without the occasional outburst.”  Robbie was starting to calm down, her cries turned to gurgles and coos.  

 

“Do you ladies want to-go boxes?  Cause your mother just up and went.”  

 

“Thank Ozma for small blessings.”  She plopped her elbow on the counter and her face in her palm.  She sighed, “Is the whole diner watching me?”

 

Ruby leaned on the counter across for her, “Oh yeah.  You look like you could use a drink too.” 

 

Zelena laughed again, “Oh I would love one, but I can’t.  The joys of motherhood.”  She looked up, “But you can.”  

 

It was silly, really, but she liked it.

 

“Pour them out, Miss Lucas.  Three shots, dealers and drinkers choice.”  She held up the credit card Regina had given her. 

 

“If I’m drinking for you, then I’m Ruby.”

 

She didn’t pull a bottle from the shelf behind her.  She ducked under and pulled up a mason jar.

 

“Moonshine, straight from  Tennessee.”  She unscrewed the lid.  “All these royals and snobs like wine and spirits.  I grew up sneaking corn whiskey out of backwoods distilleries.  Dopey runs a still but it sucks.  I found this place on the internet.  This place is way down south where they’ve legalized moonshine making.”  She shook the jar.  “They even flavor it.  This one is blackberry.”  She carefully poured herself three drinks.  “Next time I’m going to order apple pie, just to piss your sister off.”

 

She put the lid back on the jar and slid it back under the counter.  Then she picked up the first drink.  She downed it quickly and hissed.  Zelena could all but feel the burn in her own throat.  

 

She bounced Robbie and smiled.

 

“Granny raised me, you know.”

 

Zelena blinked, “I-um-no, I didn’t know.”

Ruby lifted the second drink to her lips and downed it just as fast.

 

“My Mother, Anita, she wasn’t a queen or anything, but she wanted to lead her pack of wolves.  Apparently having a kid wasn’t really conducive to that.”  Ruby shrugged, “So she left me.”  

 

Zelena didn’t know what to say.

 

“But I eventually met her.  I was grown, fighting in a war against some evil queen bent on killing my best friend.”  She chuckled, “and self-righteous as hell about that.  I mean, yeah sure I’d made some mistakes but I wasn’t as bad as her.”  She rolled her eyes, “I was young and so eager to make this mark on the world.  To show everyone that I was more than a wolf.  Then I met her, my Mother.  You see, Granny didn’t tell me about my wolf.  She hid it from me.  She tried to give me a normal childhood.  I wore a magic cloak to prevent the change.  Until I didn’t, that is.  I thought of the wolf as a curse, as something terrible.”

 

Zelena wouldn’t know anything about that.

 

“And wolves, of course, were hunted.  So it wasn’t a great time to be a child of the moon.  My Mother, though, she showed me this whole other world, a new side to me.  I learned about the magic and power of the wolf, the strength of the pack, the beauty of the hunt.”

 

She picked up the third drink and pressed her lips to the glass.

 

“Then I killed my own mother.”

 

She downed the whiskey after that, and closed her eyes.  She used the alcohols burn to mask her pain.

 

“It’s a long story, but at the end, she was dead and I made a choice to stay and keep fighting with Snow.”

 

She sat the glass down.

 

“My mother never came back to life.  Sometimes I wish she would, just so I could do exactly what you just did.  Sometimes I just want to hug her.  Sometimes I think I should really see Archie to get my head screwed on straight.”

 

She smirked, and then she reached out and touched Zelena’s arm gently.  “What I’m saying here, is that everything you’re going through, everything you’re feeling.  It isn’t crazy and it isn’t the exact same thing that Regina is going through.  She’s a whole different basket of issues.  You deal with it your way and don’t let anyone tell you that you’re right or wrong.  Yeah, you get to be a daughter again, and hey even a sister, and a mom, but you’re still you too.  You’re a lot of things, but at the end of the day, you’re always going to be Zelena.  Nobody but you gets to decide who Zelena is.”

 

“Well that”  Granny interrupted , “was heartwarming, but half of the diner still needs to be seen to.”  The old wolf smacked at Ruby with a towel.

 

“And you”  She turned to Zelena, “should get that little one home to bed.  Have one of the dwarves walk with you.  They’re carrying those magic axes in case that damn Fiona tries anything.”

 

Zelena gawked, “I-erm”

 

“I’ll take you in David’s truck, Sister.”   Grumpy came up beside her, a miners ax on his shoulder, “It’s got that base-thingy they use for Neal’s carseat in it. I think yours will fit in it so the little copper top will be safe.”

 

She nodded, almost mute.  She had no idea where all this support was coming from.  It was like they actually cared about her.  Her, the Wicked Witch.

 

“Thank you, Leroy, that would be lovely.”

 

He nodded and held a hand out towards the door, “After you.”

 

Maybe, just maybe, Zelena Mills had finally found home after all.


	3. Family Reunion Pt 3 - Regina

Family Reunion 

Part 3  - Regina

 

Regina appeared the foyer of her home on Mifflin Street.  She was still shaking with rage.  She was so mad that scalding hot tears were pouring down her cheeks.  She reached into her inner blazer pocket to get her handkerchief.  Her fingers were trembling so much that she dropped it.  

 

“Damn it.” 

 

She wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve.  Mother would hate that.  Mother.  

 

“Damn it.”  

 

She needed a drink. She hated that.  Because if she needed a drink that mean she was out of control.  She loathed being out of control.  It was a sign of weakness.  Mother knew how to exploit her weaknesses.  She knew how to twist her emotions and her thoughts.

 

“Damn it.”

 

She needed-wanted that drink.  Only one, though. She just wanted one drink to calm her nerves.  If she let herself keep going then she would spiral back to the way she had been before.  Before Henry, before Storybrooke.  Before.  When she was the Evil Queen.  She would slip into the delicious delirium of wine and magic.  She had learned that in that place, where time and pain was washed away, her mother didn’t exist.  It was so tempting to go there again, to succumb.

 

She stumbled into her study.  She just wanted a glass of her cider.  It was strong and potent.  It would help her calm down.

 

“Hello Regina.”

 

She jerked and turned on her heel, ready to argue, ready to fight.  Ready to scream at her mother once more.  It was not Cora, though, it was Maleficent.  Her old friend sat in a chair by the fireplace.  Her golden hair tumbled down her shoulders in curls and her black silk shirt was unbuttoned far enough down to show the lace of her bra.  She had one long leg crossed over the other.  She had a glass of dark red wine halfway to her lips.

 

“Mal.  How-”  Honestly, Regina didn’t really care how.  She was just happy to see a friendly face.

 

“Lily’s phone told her about the ruckus at the diner.”

 

She uncrossed her legs, and quirked a brow, “Come.”

 

It was an old invitation, and one that Regina could not pass up.  She went across the room and to her old friend.  The only time she’d been thankful for her slight stature was when she was in Maleficent’s lap.  She fit against her and the blonde was able to wrap both arms around her.  

 

“I’m sorry, darling.”  

 

Regina relaxed against the other woman and sighed. She and Maleficent had a unique friendship.  They have been student and teacher, friends, enemies, lovers and allies.  They’d fought, they’d loved.  Their relationship was as twisted as the one she had with Cora.  Only, when they were like this, Regina had nothing to fear.  Maleficent was many things, but she would not harm her, not really.  She’d had her chance, several of them, but she’d never taken it.  

 

Maleficent had been the only person, other than Daniel and her father, who could touch her without causing a flinch, to hold her without harm, and to kiss her without expectations.

 

“I-”  Regina finally let herself say it out loud, “I don’t think I can do this.”  She was weak.  She was no queen, she was barely able to be a daughter, sister and mother.  She was-

 

“The Regina that I read about”  

 

She chuckled and leaned in so their faces were touching.  She could feel Mal’s  smile on her cheek as she repeated the words that she had said so many years before.

 

“The Regina I know is the strongest mortal in any realm.  You have worked harder and achieved more than any mortal should have been able to.  You saved this old dragon from herself.  You saved my daughter.  You created and manage this beautiful town.  You raised a sweet son all on your own.”

 

She could feel Maleficent’s smile against her cheek again.  “You know he has been pestering Lily to let him see her turn into a dragon.  I think he’s too intimidated to ask me.”

 

It didn’t surprise her that Henry had made friends with Lily.  He was definitely a charming young man.

 

“I’ve missed this.”  Maleficent whispered into her hair. “We haven’t had a proper fire-side chat in too long.”

 

Of course their old fireside chats had often lead to wine,magic and sex.  Those had been some of Regina’s happiest days.  She had missed her dear friend more that she could say.  She’d spent twenty years wishing that her dragon was with her and not beneath the town. 

 

“You warned me that casting the curse would leave a hole in my heart.  One that could never be filled.”

Maleficent nodded, “I remember, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I was wrong.  You are more than the Evil Queen and like it or not, that dark and terrible curse did far more good than harm and you know it.”  She grinned, “Honestly, they should build a statue in your honor.”

 

Regina laughed a little.  “Not likely.”

 

They sat quietly for a moment, soaking each other in.  She was warm, safe and happy, happier then she’d been in longer than she could remember.  They were such bad girls, snuggling and, Regina yawned, becoming sleepy.

 

“My Queen.” There was no malice, sarcasm or accusation in those words.  Maleficent was nothing short of worshipful. “You need to rest.”  Maleficent pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek then  lifted her to her feet.  She was strong, a dragon in a woman’s form, but as gentle as a lamb.

 

She stood and wrapped Reina up in a hug.

 

“You will figure this out.  You have done so much and come so far.”  She kissed her other cheek.  “If you can save this bitter old dragon, you can do anything.”  

 

Regina wrapped her hands around Mal’s neck and stretched the hug out.

 

“And if Cora does try something.  If she hurts a single hair on your head, then I will end her.  I will unleash fire and magic so dark that even she would be aghast.  I will send her back to that damn Underworld.”  Maleficent rested her chin on Regina’s bowed head.  “I will not let that witch hurt you again. Never again.”

 

She should have pushed Maleficent away.  She should have declared that she didn’t need anyone’s protection.  She should have defended her mother.  She should have done a lot of things.  She didn’t.  She let herself be hugged.

 

“Good night, Regina.”

 

She disappeared in a swirl of smoke.  It wrapped Regina in a warmth and the essence of Maleficent: brimstone, lavender and bella donna.  That was when she realized that she hadn’t needed a drink after all.  She smiled despite herself, “Oh my dear old friend.”  

 

She went upstairs, her mind still full of Maleficent.  She automatically went to Henry’s room before she remembered that he wasn’t there.  

 

“You’re done with your dragon, then?”

 

Regina turned to see Zelena standing at her bedroom door.  She was already dressed for bed in an oversized yellow soccer jersey.  Her long legs were bare and her red hair was in a messy braid.  Robbie was in her arms and ready for bed in her in a little poka-dot sleeper that proudly proclaimed ‘I Luv My Mummy’.  Her springy little curls, the same color of her mother’s, stuck out all over her little head.

 

“I’m-uh-sorry”  That word still stuck in her throat.  “I’m sorry I made a scene then left you to deal with it.”

 

She wrung her hands together.  She really didn’t want to fight again tonight.

 

“It’s”  Zelena sounded just as awkward as Regina felt.  “Not really all your fault.  After you left I might have said a few things of my own.  Ruby calmed me down a bit and Leroy drove us home. I’m not sure where mother is.”

 

Regina’s life was, officially, in shambles.  It was a comedy of errors twisted into a tragedy. All she could do at this point was laugh.  Zelena stared at her for a moment, like she’d grown a second head.  Then she started to chuckle too.  The two of them were laughing like hyenas.  Robbie didn’t understand what was going on, but she waved her little fists in the air in solidarity.

 

Zelena inclined her head and Regina followed her into her room.  Zelena’s room was a mess of boxes, baby furniture and books.  

 

“Get comfortable, Sis.”  She flicked her fingers and changed Regina of the neatly pressed pantsuit she had been wearing and into one of her own silk nightgowns.  They got comfortable on Zelena’s bed with the baby between them.  It was such a sisterly situation.  Sisters on television had moments like this all the time.  They didn’t.  They usually spent their time throwing insults and fireballs at each other.  

 

“What are we going to do?”  Zelena was the older sister but she sounded much younger than her years.  “We’ve got these mountains of issues with mother and each other and everything really.  Is this happily ever after?”

 

They were being frank and raw with each other, so Regina didn’t hold back.  “I don’t know.”  She really didn’t.  “But I think we might be able to figure it out together.”  She smirked, “Sis.”

 

She sighed and got comfortable on the bed.  “Maybe we should go to family therapy.”

 

Zelena’s answer was the thump her in the face with a pillow.  They both chuckled and Robbie let out a stream of babbles.  Even she knew that was a silly idea.

 

“We could go on one of those ghastly day time television shows.  We could be a three-parter.”

 

Regina snorted , she couldn’t help it.  “Help! I posed as her soulmates previously dead wife and now I’m pregnant with his child!  We would be ratings gold.”

 

They dissolved into laughter and the somber mood was chased away.  Their lives were complicated, but they were family and eventually they would figure it out.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Family Reunion Pt 4 - Cora

 

Family Reunion

Pt 4 - Cora

 

What was the point of having a heart in her chest if all it did was ache?  Cora Mills had taken her heart out to avoid this sort of emotional distress.  Love was weakness and it interfered with what needed to be done.  She’d climbed up from the dust and chaff to become the Queen of Hearts.  She’d had wealth, power, and people far and wide had respected her.  Respected or feared, perhaps both.  Even her own flesh and blood feared her. 

 

Neither Regina nor Zelena trusted her.  Regina held herself stiff and distant, there was a flicker of fear in her eyes.  Zelena was wary of her, uncertain of what she felt, except where her baby was concerned.  Neither of her daughters would let her touch their children.  It was a cold and harsh rejection and it hurt.  It felt like she was being robbed of something-what she did not know.  Love?  Affection?  Coddling babies and spoiling teenagers?  She had never wanted any of that.  She had left Zelena to die with her heart inside of her chest, after all.  

 

She had left the diner after Zelena had screamed at her.  She knew her way around Storybrooke and wandered around the dark streets, deep in thought.  She hadn’t wrestled with her conscious in many years.  It was not something she enjoyed.  She had cut her way through the world by being strong, decisive and absolutely ruthless.  Love was weakness.  She had to keep telling herself that.  If she wavered, if she stopped for even a second to listen to her heart, everything would fall apart.

 

She sighed, there was no point in wasting anymore time, she had to do this now-or never.

 

She flicked her fingers and disappeared in a plume of smoke.  She reappeared in her daughter’s home (a tiny barely-manor) and went up the stairs.  She pursed her lips and fists tight.  This was the only way.  She went to Zelena’s room and stopped short.  Both of her daughters were there, fast asleep.  The baby was between them, awake but seemingly happy exactly where she was.  

Cora waved her hand and cast a small sleeping spell to make sure that Regina and Zelena stayed asleep.  They looked absurdly young and innocent in their sleep.  Regina was curled on her side, one arm over her midsection and the other up by her face, as if she was protecting herself.  Zelena was the opposite,her arms and legs were thrown out, as if she were trying to take up as much room as possible.

 

She had watched Zelena sleep in those first few days before she’d abandoned her.  She’d had no cradle for her, only a basket that she had woven herself.  It had been an ugly thing, not fit for puppies, let alone a baby.  Zelena had slept in it though, her little eyes scrunched shut, her tiny fists wrapped around her mother’s finger.  She remembered those precious few days vividly, more so now with her heart in her chest.  Regina had been given the best of everything, Henry had seen to that.   She’d slept in a crib made for a princess: polished wood, silk bedding and a mobile made of beautiful stained glass.  The mobile had been horses and suns, if she remembered correctly.  

 

She bent over Zelena and picked up the baby, Robyn.  She looked so much like Zelena that it ached.  This was the memory she’d carried with her for many years.  Robin was her mother made over again.  Her eyes were wide open and breathtakingly blue.  Her hair was thick and already curling.  She could see her own features in the child.  Robyn had her nose and ears.  

 

Zelena stirred, face furrowed, and she turned over,hand searching for her baby.  She found Regina instead, and rolled closer, cuddling into her.  Regina smiled in her sleep.

 

Her girls had different sires, but they were unmistakably hers.  They all had the same smile and the same shaped face. They had both inherited her talents and intelligence, but also her stubbornness and temper.  They had both become better mothers than she could have ever dreamed of being.

 

“And you.”  She looked down at the baby again.  “What do you think of all of this.”  Robyn was a baby, of course, and had no answers.  She did yawn, though, her little pink tongue smacked her lips and she waved her little fists. This little girl had a legacy bearing down on her, but she didn’t know anything about that.  She didn’t care if she was a princess or a pauper.  As long as she was warm, fed and in a clean nappy, she would be a happy little girl.  She knew nothing of deals and sacrifice, of matters of the heart versus the head. She knew nothing of strife or struggle, of despair or death.  She was an innocent little girl.  

 

Cora’s little girl’s little girl.  

 

She was a sleepy little girl.  She was falling asleep in Cora’s arms.  Holding a sleeping baby was strangely soothing.  It brought an odd sense of calm.  Cora hesitated.  She froze in place.  Her daughters slumbered, curled together like kittens.  Her granddaughter was falling asleep in her arms.  They were together, relatively safe and moving towards something that might be happiness.  She could not spoil it.  Not this time.

 

She took Robin to the lacey white bassinet beside the bed.  She was getting a little big for it, but the half-assembled wooden crib in the corner was not ready for her yet.  She laid her down, then with a twist of her fingers a little stuffed doll with brown yarn hair and a red dress appeared beside her.  If it looked exactly like the one she’d had when she was a very small girl, then it was entirely coincidental.  She turned back to her daughters and flicked her fingers.  The quilt that hand been under them was now on top of them.  She smoothed it out carefully.  Spell or not, she didn’t want to wake them up.  

 

She stepped back and steeled herself for what came next.

 

“Sleep well, My Darlings.”

 

She teleported away and hoped that this wasn’t the last time she saw them.

 

She reappeared in Regina’s office.

“Good evening, Cora.”

 

The desk chair turned to reveal Fiona, the Black Fairy, in all of her dark glory.  The curtains had been pulled back and moonlight bathed the office in an ethereal light.  Fiona’s skin and eyes glowed with power and purpose.  

 

“I believe you’re missing something - or someone as it were.”

 

Cora’s heart hammered in her chest.  She could feel chills going up and down her spine. This was fear, and she hadn’t experienced it full-force in years.  

 

“No, I didn’t.  This is between you and me, Fiona.  Leave my family out of it.”

 

The other woman laughed, it was a light and tinkling chuckle broken up by little gasps of madness.

 

“Oh my dear sweet Cora, you seem to have forgotten our deal.”  She got up and walked around the desk.  Her steps were smooth and soundless, it was like she was floating.  “I brought you back to life.  You were dead.”  She grinned and her black eyes flickered, “and now you’re quite alive.”

 

Cora bristled.  This was not her first, or even tenth encounter, with Fiona, but it would be her last. 

 

“I used my powers to break the most unbreakable cardinal rule of magic and all I ask for in return in one small boon.”  She over-enunciated boon and even as her lips shaped the sounds of the word, they twitched into a smirk.  “We made this deal ages ago, when you were young and hungry.”

 

Fiona came closer, like a large cat hunting it’s prey.  She reached out and touched Cora’s cheek.  Her fingers were cold and hard.  “Hungry for power.  Hungry for magic.”   

 

She remembered.  Fiona had been a powerful and unscrupulous tutor.  She had taken great joy in helping her learn the dark arts.  Hindsight being what it was, she should have known better than to trust her. 

 

“Hungry for”  Fiona’s shapely lips pressed up against her own, “more.”

 

That had been true.  She’d made more than just deals with Fiona. Theirs had been a multi-faceted and mutually beneficial arrangement, once upon a time.

 

“And didn’t I give you everything you desired?  Everything you demanded?  Everything you dreamed of?  I did for you what no man could, I made you a queen.  I gave you a kingdom.  All I ever asked for was one thing, a single child of your bloodline.”

 

She scowled, “Yet here you are empty handed.”

 

Fiona backed up and few steps and leaned against the desk, “I can retrieve sweet baby Robyn myself if I really wanted to, but a deal is a deal, Cora.”

 

Yes, Fiona had helped her. She had taught her many things, had helped her become powerful.  She had come to her aid when Regina had banished her to Wonderland.  She’d even presented her a crown of gold, rubies and fairy-dust diamonds when she’d become the Queen of Hearts.  They had a deal, but the price was too high.

 

“I’m breaking our deal.”

 

She laughed again,bent over double with faux chuckles, “Tell me you’re joking.”

 

Cora threw her hands out in a blast of concentrated magic.  Fiona, caught off guard, flew over the desk and out the window. Cora teleported down to the lawn outside where she could watch Fiona hit the ground.

 

“Get up.”  She was ready for this to be over.  If Fiona wanted Robyn, or any of her family, she would have to go through her.

 

“You are full of surprises.”  Fiona rose back up without a hitch in her step.  She was still smirking.  “But do you really think a little witch like you can stop me?  Both of your daughters have tried and they failed miserably.  I taught you everything you know.  Do you really think you can beat me?  I’ll have to kill you all over again,Dear.”  She twisted her head from side to side and shook her arms out.  “Only this time, you’ll wish for the swift end that poison brought you.”

 

Fear.  Fear for herself.  Fear for her daughter.  Fear for her grandchildren.

 

She clenched her fists.  She could not bow to fear.  She was the Queen of Hearts, and it was high time she acted like it.  

 

A swirl of scarlet smoke enveloped her, but she didn’t teleport.

The black pantsuit, borrowed from her daughter's closet, was gone.  The gown was not one that she’d ever worn.  It was dark red, the color of the dress she’d worn the night she’d met Henry and Rumple.  It was elegant and detailed, like the gowns she’d worn in Wonderland.  It had a black cloak with intricate gold embroidery studded with rubies. Instead of a crown or a tiara, though, she wore a mask.  Much like the mask she’d worn at court, it was gold and porcelain but it had feathers and roses too, an homage to the first mask she’d ever worn.  She was many things: Queen, Mother, Sorceress, and Monster and now she would embrace all of it.

 

“Aren’t you cute?”  Fiona growled, “The Millers daughter masquerading as a royal.  Still wearing masks, Cora?  It is all you know.”

 

She flicked her wrists and the well manicured garden heeded her command. The hedges grew into walls and the roses (both the red and the white) lashed out like whips at her command.  Even the tree limbs lengthened and grabbed at Fiona.  

“Not all.”

 

The trees caught Fiona by each limb and pulled her up into the air. The rose vines wrapped around her tight, sinking their thorns deep into her skin.

 

“You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

 

Fiona laughed again, “Parlor tricks.”

 

Then Cora was thrown back.  She hadn’t even seen the wand in the woman’s hands.  She flew back hard, through the wood and stone of the building.  She hit the marble floor and tumbled and rolled.  It felt like every bone in her body was broken.

 

“You might want to fix”  Her entire body was seized up by magic.  It seared through her flesh like hot pokers. “Your face.”  Black fingers ripped her mask away and threw it against a mirror on the wall.  Everything shattered and fell to the floor.

 

“You foolish old woman.  I gave you your pitiful mortal life back and this is how you repay me?”  Fiona reached out and used her magic to choke her.  Cora felt fear race through her again.  Fear and shame.  She had done this to Regina when she’d been a child, a baby really.  Maybe she really didn’t deserve this second life.

 

“You broke our deal, Cora.  Now I will break you.  I will leave your battered body here for your precious Regina to find.  THen I’ll take her too.  I’ll take them all and I will destroy them.  Every Mills.  The adopted boy, the girl, the baby and your daughters.  I will drain their magic and kill them one by one.  I’ll make them watch their children die then I think I’ll let them kill each other.  I wonder which one will snap first?  I bet it will be my little fairy god daughter.  I’ve always liked her best, she was born with a little bit of darkness already in her.”

 

Dots were dancing in front of her eyes and Cora couldn't move, couldn’t speak.

 

“And you only helped that little seed of darkness along, didn’t you, Cora Dear?  You wanted your daughter to be the Evil Queen.  You wanted your little baby girl to be a monster. Just. Like. You.”  

 

She was airborne again, flying through walls and glass like it was nothing.  Cora landed on hard, cold cement.  Above her the stars and moon danced in drunken circles.  She was outside again, on the other side of the building.  She had never told a soul about the deal she’d made while her daughter was still growing inside of her.  Fiona was Regina’s fairy godmother, and had “guided” her through the years.  Fiona’s corrosive influence had helped Regina in her darkest and most bloody hours.  

 

“Though I suppose Regina had a nice life compared to Zelena.  You sent her away to live the life you escaped: poverty in the woods with an abusive alcoholic father and a spineless mother.  You even found her, only to send her back to that terrible fate.”

 

She rose in the air again, at Fiona’s mercy.

 

“All hail the Queen of Hearts.”

 

She laughed again, and Cora grit her teeth at the sound.  

 

“Nothing to say, Your Highness?”

 

Cora raised her head, her pride more important than her pain.  “It’s Your Majesty.”  She jerked her head against Fiona’s magical grip.  That was enough, though.  Two of the four pillars from the buildings front ripped free of their place and fell towards Fiona.  She flew out of the way but lost her grip on Cora. 

 

It was the opening she needed.  Cora whipped her hands in the air and the two flagpoles twisted and reached out to capture Fiona again.  The metal twisted around her and brought her back down to earth with a hard jerk.

 

She had to move fast and smart.  She had already used a good deal of magic, and did not have an unlimited supply. Cora used everything at her disposal.  She ripped the two park benches off of the ground and flung then at the fairy.  One sailed wide, but the other hit her hard.  It splintered and broke on impact, and Fiona let out a scream. Cora held up a fist and brought it down in a hard arc.  The flagpoles followed the movement and slammed Fiona hard into the stone walkway.

 

Cora turned around, looking for more ammunition.  There were several strange carriages (Regina called them cars) parked along the dark street.  Good enough. 

 

One of them, blue and big, flew through the air at her command.  It hit Fiona so hard that there was a small explosion.  Cora called another, a smaller red one, and it hit just as hard.  There was a wreckage of twisted metal and glass, but no movement.

 

Cora rested for a moment.  She was breathing hard and every single breath hurt.  She was bleeding in several places and her head was pounding. It was over.  She was-

 

The laughter, airy giggles with gasps of madness, echoed through the square.  The wreckage that had been two cars was forcefully pushed away.  Fiona stood in a small crater and a single cut to her cheek was the only damage on her.  

 

“You thought it would be that easy?”

 

Cora straitened up.  “I studied fairy magic too, Fiona.  Did you know? I’ve even been to Neverland. I’ve studied wands and wish magic.  I know everything there is to know about you.”  

 

Fiona raised a brow, “Really?”

 

Cora stepped closer.  “I had a long time to think and prepare.  I bet I even know some things that you don’t.  Like these carriages.”  

 

Cora flicked her fingers and the ruined metal rose in the air.  “THey’re made of many things.”  The small fires that had been burning roared up into thick and hungry pillars of flame.  “Metallurgy has come a long way, but even these odd machines are still forged from the simplest things, like iron.”

 

Fiona stood in between the two flaming towers.  “Am I supposed to be frightened by these theatrics?”  The flickering orange and red light danced across the plains and angles of her face, painting her as beautiful and demonic on the outside as she was on the inside.  “Just bring me the baby, Cora.  I will spare the rest if I must, but I want that child.  I am owed that baby.”

 

“Never.”

 

The metal, rent into sizzling molten by her fire, separated into its base components.  Cora pulled the iron out and shaped it into cord.  It was like her very first magic lesson all over again.  

 

The iron cord burned a deep red in the night and it flew around Fiona, cocooning her.

 

Her screams were shrill, agonizing and haunting.  Cora had tortured dozens of men and had never heard anything like it.

 

“Iron is anathema to fairies.  It burns and contains, destroys even.  I learned that on an island that has no name, from a man who drank wine mixed with poison and ink.  He could call storms and had mastered a fairy just like you.”

 

Fiona had fallen to her hands and knees and was writhing in pain.  The cord had burnt into her skin and was working its way down to the bone.

 

“You will not hurt them.  Not my girls, not anyone in this town.  Not ever again.”

 

Fiona looked up, her skin was a chalky white and there were tears streaming down her cheeks.  Her lips and teeth were stained with blood.  “So you’re the hero now? You?”

 

This time Cora laughed, “Of course not.”  Wind started to whip around them and more carriages, more metal, more iron, was being dragged towards her fires.”  The fires grew larger and hotter.  MEtal screamed and bubbled, smoke rose and blotted out the moon and stars.  “I’m the Queen of Hearts.”  

 

Fiona screamed as the metal overtook her.  It flowed over her skin and splashed onto her wings.  The iron covered her.  The iron contained her.  The iron became her.

 

Cora twisted her wrists and water came.  Underground pipes burst and shot up from under the street and the grass.  Cora directed it to spray on the mass of metal that had been the Black Fairy.  Steam rushed around as the hot metal rapidly cooled.

 

Cora regarded her masterpiece with a critical eye.  The statue was beautiful and perfectly detailed, down to the smallest laugh line and fold of cloth.  Her arms were up,raised towards the heavens.  Her wings were out, as if fluttering ready for flight.  Her face was frozen in what could have been a smile or a scream.

 

“Scream all you want, Dear Fiona.  No one will ever hear you.  This iron will keep you locked in place, a prisoner frozen for all time.  I will live and die, my daughters, their children, their children’s children.  This town will grow and prosper around you. You will know nothing but the still darkness and the constant burn of iron.  A thousand years, a thousand curses, the end of this world and the beginning of the next and you will still stand like this.  Forever.”

 

She walked closer and raised up on her toes to press a kiss against Fiona’s cold metal lips.  “Goodbye Fiona.” She walked away and as she did the tattered and charred remains of her gown evaporated and the pantsuit she’d worn before reappeared.  Her hair combed and re-arranged itself.  She walked away, without looking back, as the building and grounds righted themselves, reassembling as if the fight had never happened.  Only Fiona remained.

 

Cora went home, to her family,to prove to herself and to them, that they could have happily ever after.

**Author's Note:**

> For those interested: I have written a Cora-Fiona first meeting fic which is already posted on AO3. It is "A New Darkness A New Deal" and is not required to understand this story, but I think it is fun.


End file.
